Niger

2015 UNHCR country operations profile - Niger

| Overview |

Working environment

While the authorities and host population provide substantial support to refugees, particularly for out-of-camp refugees in the Diffa region, the country's precarious socio-economic situation and limited basic social services have had a negative impact on peaceful coexistence between local communities and refugees. Food insecurity and malnutrition remain of concern to UNHCR and partners.

In northern Mali, after a short period of calm, rising insecurity and tension have led to the arrival of approximately 4,200 new Malian refugees since May 2014. Meanwhile, since the beginning of 2014, more than 6,700 Malian refugees living in Niger have returned home. Niger is currently hosting approximately 37,000 Malian refugees. While conditions do not support massive returns home, UNHCR will, in consultation with host countries and Malian authorities, provide refugees willing to return home with information on the situation in areas of origin, as well as repatriation assistance.

The deteriorating security situation in north-eastern Nigeria has caused several population movements into Niger, including refugees from Nigeria and citizens of Niger who were living in Nigeria and have returned. New arrivals are spread across hundreds of towns and islands on Lake Chad on a vast territory with a poor road network. Accessing these populations poses significant operational and security challenges, and is costly.

People of concern

The main populations of concern in Niger in 2015 are: Malian refugees who have fled violence in their country since 2012 and are living in camps, refugee-hosting and urban areas; as well as refugees (Nigerian nationals) and returnees (Niger nationals who were living in Nigeria) who have fled violence in north-eastern Nigeria since May 2013, are dispersed in more than 100 villages, and are hosted by the local community.

UNHCR 2015 planning figures for Niger

Type of population

Origin

January 2015

December 2015

Total in country

Of whom assisted
by UNHCR

Total in country

Of whom assisted
by UNHCR

Total

58,380

58,380

43,220

43,220

Refugees

Chad

140

140

-

-

Mali

37,000

37,000

22,000

22,000

Nigeria

16,000

16,000

16,000

16,000

Various

180

180

180

180

Asylum-seekers

Central African Rep.

10

10

-

-

Chad

10

10

10

10

Côte d'Ivoire

20

20

20

20

Various

20

20

20

20

Others of concern

Niger

5,000

5,000

5,000

5,000

| Response |

Needs and strategies

UNHCR's strategy in 2015 will focus on strengthening Malian refugees' self-reliance and resilience, though the organization will maintain adequate levels of assistance and protection for those who need it. As the situation in Mali stabilizes, and if conditions permit, UNHCR will support the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of approximately 10,000 refugees. The organization will also continue to enhance community empowerment and self-reliance for some 3,000 Niger nationals living in camps.

In the Diffa region, which hosts Nigerian refugees and Niger returnees, UNHCR will continue to offer basic emergency assistance, such as shelter, health, water, food and non-food items, as well as protection. It will also seek to boost socio-economic empowerment by strengthening basic social services. Where displaced populations are living with host communities, UNHCR will adopt an out-of-camp approach that will include the provision of land titles to beneficiaries and sustainable shelter solutions. Building the resilience of individuals and maintaining peaceful coexistence between the host community and the displaced population will be a priority for UNHCR and partners in 2015.

| Implementation |

Coordination

UNHCR is part of the Humanitarian Country Team in Niger and the lead agency for the multi-sector working group for refugees. The organization works closely with Niger's Commission nationale d'éligibilité au statut de réfugié, which is responsible for refugee status determination under the Ministry of the Interior. In the Diffa region, UNHCR will support the regional authorities to better address the critical needs of refugees and returnees. The organization will continue working with a wide range of partners, including UN agencies, NGOs and the Luxembourg Red Cross. Similarly, regional coordination will be strengthened by UNHCR offices and partners in countries affected by the Mali and Nigeria crises.

2015 UNHCR partners in Niger

Implementing partners

Government agencies:Commission nationale d'éligibilité au statut de réfugié, the Social Safety Net Unit, Regional Government of Diffa

Government agencies:Cellule de coordination de l'aide humanitaire (Prime Minister's Office), local authorities in Bosso, Kabelwa and Mainé-Soroa

NGOs: Plan International

Others: FAO, ICRC, IOM, OCHA, PNUD, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHAS, WFP, WHO

| Financial information |

Since the onset of the Mali crisis, major investments have been made in emergency support for the relocation of refugees from the border and the construction and rehabilitation of camp infrastructure. In 2013, revised financial requirements reached some USD 56.5 million. Subsequently, the operational budget has gradually decreased to USD 41.6 million in 2014 and to USD 31.5 million in 2015, given the planned return of 10,000 Malian refugees in 2015.

Persons recognized as refugees under the 1951 UN Convention/1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention, in accordance with the UNHCR Statute, persons granted a complementary form of protection and those granted temporary protection. It also includes persons in a refugee-like situation for whom refugee status has, for practical or other reasons, not been ascertained. In the absence of Government figures, UNHCR has estimated the refugee population in many industrialized countries based on 10 years of individual asylum-seeker recognition.

Persons whose application for asylum or refugee status is pending at any stage in the asylum procedure.

Refugees who have returned to their place of origin during the first six months of 2014. Source: country of origin and asylum.

Persons who are displaced within their country and to whom UNHCR extends protection and assistance. It also includes people in IDP-like situations. This category is descriptive in nature and includes groups of persons who are inside their country of nationality or habitual residence and who face protection risks similar to those of IDPs but who, for practical or other reasons, could not be reported as such.

IDPs protected/assisted by UNHCR who have returned to their place of origin during the first six months of 2014.

Refers to persons who are not considered as nationals by any State under the operation of its law. This category refers to persons who fall under the agency's statelessness mandate because they are stateless according to this international definition, but data from some countries may also include persons with undetermined nationality.

Refers to individuals who do not necessarily fall directly into any of the other groups but to whom UNHCR may extend its protection and/or assistance services. These activities might be based on humanitarian or other special grounds.

The data are generally provided by Governments, based on their own definitions and methods of data collection.
A dash (-) indicates that the value is zero, not available or not applicable.

Barbara Hendricks visits Malian refugees in Burkina Faso

UNHCR Honorary Lifetime Goodwill Ambassador Barbara Hendricks met with Malian refugees in Damba Camp on July 6, 2012, in northern Burkina Faso. The acclaimed soprano is using the visit to highlight the plight of tens of thousands of refugees who have fled from conflict in their country this year and are living in camps or settlements in neighbouring countries. As of early July, more than 198,000 Malians had fled to Mauritania (88,825), Burkina Faso (65,009) and Niger (44,987). At least 160,000 were estimated to be displaced within Mali, most in the north.

Barbara Hendricks visits Malian refugees in Burkina Faso

Malian refugees flee for safety to Niger

Thousands of Malian families have arrived in Niger since mid-January, fleeing fighting between a rebel Tuareg movement and Malian government forces in northern Mali. Refugees are living in makeshift settlements along the border, exposed to the sun and wind by day, and cold at night. UNHCR has started distributing relief assistance and is planning to open camps in safer areas further away from the border. UNHCR's Helene Caux met with some the refugees who all expressed their desire to return to their country once peace prevails.

Malian refugees flee for safety to Niger

Malians still fleeing to Niger

Malian refugees continue to arrive in Niger, fleeing fighting and general insecurity and political instability in their country. At the Mangaizé refugee site in northern Niger, some 3,000 refugees live in difficult conditions, bearing soaring temperatures during the day and wondering when they will be able to return home. The scarce water and food resources in the arid Sahel country also present a huge challenge for the refugees and local communities. More than 40,000 Malians have found refuge in Niger since January, when fighting erupted between a rebel Tuareg movement and Malian government forces. More than 160,000 Malians have arrived in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania, while 133,000 are displaced within their country. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visited Niger, including Mangaizé, in early May with World Food Programme Executive Director Ertharin Cousin to help focus world attention on the crisis and to seek help for the displaced.

Malians still fleeing to Niger

Malian refugees in Niger struggle to rebuild their lives

Some 60,000 Malian civilians have found refuge in Niger this year, fleeing fighting in northern Mali as well as political instability in the whole country. Most are hosted in three official camps - Tabareybarey, Mangaize and Abala. A significant number are living in spontaneous settlements. All are located in harsh arid countryside where life is tough despite the assistance provided by UNHCR and other aid agencies.

Children are the most vulnerable group, with some suffering from acute malnutrition. Older children are looking forward to resuming their education in a foreign land. Meanwhile, some 6,000 refugees are living in the Niger capital, Niamey, where many of them look for work so that they can send money back to relatives still in Mali.

Meanwhile, the future remains uncertain. Many people fear that continuing fighting inside Mali could lead to an accelerated exodus of refugees from Mali into neighbouring countries, including Niger.

The following photographs by UNHCR photographer Hélène Caux depict life for the refugees in Tabareybarey and Mangaize camps as well as in Niamey.

Malian refugees in Niger struggle to rebuild their lives

Thousands Start Afresh in Niger After Fleeing Nigeria

In May 2013, the Nigerian government, responding to a surge in violence in the north-east of the country, declared a state of emergency in the volatile states of Borno, Adawama and Yobe. Many people fled to neighbouring Niger's Diffa region and to the Far North Region of Cameroon. Fresh violence in January this year has forced thousands more to flee to both countries. UNHCR photographer Hélène Caux visited the towns of Bosso and Diffa in Niger's Diffa region shortly before the latest influx. She met some of the Nigerian refugees who had fled earlier waves of violence across the border. They told her of the violence they had seen, the losses they had suffered and their attempts to lead as normal a life as possible in Diffa, including sending their children to attend school. They are grateful to the communities that have welcomed and helped them in Niger.

Thousands Start Afresh in Niger After Fleeing Nigeria

Niger: Flight from Nigeria

People escaping the fighting between the Nigerian army and Boko Haram rebels get a friendly welcome in Niger.

Niger: New Arrivals in Aroyou

Among the more than 300,000 forcibly displaced Malians, more than 2,600 found shelter in Aroyou, Niger. Despite their ordeal, they took part in recent events to mark World Refugee Day.

Niger: New Camp in Niger

A new tented refugee camp is under construction in Mangaizé, Niger. UNHCR is putting up family tents to replace the makeshift shelters that people have been living in for weeks.

Niger: A Silent Crisis

The heads of UNHCR and the World Food Programme meet refugees from Mali in Niger's Mangaizé Camp and urge the international community to help them.

Niger: Flight from Mali

Since the troubles began in their country last January, more the 40,000 Malians have taken refuge in Niger.